Marquette Theatre’s season is off to a fantastic start with Loose Lips Sink Ships, a musical by Jacinda Duffin and Laurie Flanigan Hegge that offers insight into the emotional journeys of eight Sturgeon Bay, Wis., individuals during World War II. Though the topic is heavy, Loose Lips Sink Ships presents a good balance between the realities of war and witty bantering and humorous moments between characters, more often than not tending toward a lighter approach.
The show opens in a shipyard where we are introduced to the crew: Jack Sullivan (Daniel Callahan), Marty McCabe (Michael Nicholas), Eddie Hillstrom (Ben Braun), Joe Overbeck (Peter Sisto) and Roxie Tahovsky (Chloe Hurckes). Director Diana Alioto did a fantastic job casting performers in roles that bring out the best of their abilities. Each actor embodies his or her character, making them relatable with subtle quirks and interactions through word and song. Eddie’s sisters, Anne and Trudy (Anna Otto and Annie Kefalas), as well as Eric, played with enjoyable awkwardness by A.J. Magoon, come into the picture just a scene or two later. We are quickly drawn into these eight characters’ lives—a wedding, winning at poker, wanting to take a girl out on a date—which are all abruptly interrupted by the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Roxie is the emblem of Rosie the Riveter and she carries the role as if it was written for her. Between her powerhouse vocals, energetic charisma and solid tap dance number, Hurckes is an absolute joy to watch on stage. Callahan and Braun steal the show with their duet dance numbers—both are exceptionally light on their feet and offer dynamic vocals that blend perfectly. Additionally, Nicholas is adorable in “When You’re Around,” and Kefalas stirred the audience to tears with her beautiful rendition of “The Strangest Thing.”
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Marquette’s James Kaplan’s music is moving and creates a rich texture to the show as a whole, with each song accomplishing only what it needs to—sometimes in just a few lines—while still being immensely effective. The singing of letters sent back and forth during the war is particularly powerful, especially in the number, “Read Between the Lines,” sung with palpable, raw emotion. High praise as well to the designers of the set, the lighting design and the period costumes.
Through Oct. 4 at Helfaer Theatre, 525 N. 13th St. For tickets, call 414-288-7504 or visit showclix.com/event/LooseLipsSinkShips.
